'  '.'  :        i«::  \'...  V'-'V-  .•        •;' 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 


By 
REV.  D.  S.  WAHL 


Printed  for  the  Author  by 

THE  CAXTON   PRESS 

CINCINNATI.  OHIO 

1925 


foreword 

For  years  it  has  been  my  custom  to  -end  birth- 
day greetings  to  my  parishioners,  more  esj  ecially 
to  those  whom  it  was  my  privilege  to  consecral 
God  in  baptism  and  to  receive  into  the  church  of 

Christ  during  my  pastorates  at  Beardstown  and 
Springfield,  Illinois;  Eden  and  Salem  Churches, 
St.  Louis,  Missouri;  Mount  Olive  and  Edwards- 
ville,  Illinois.  It  has  also  been  a  pleasure  in  like 
manner  to  remember  friends  of  my  boyhood  days 
in  San  Jose,  Natrona,  and  Tallula,  Illinois,  and 
also  boys  and  girls  of  Central  Wesleyan  Orphan 
I  Ionic,  at  Warrenton,  "Missouri,  whose  acquaintance 
I  formed  during  the  twelve  years  of  my  connection 
with  the  hoard  of  trustees  of  this  institution. 

Main-  of  the  little  folks  of  bygone  years  have 
grown  to  young  manhood  and  womanhood,  and 
arc.  perchance,  beginning  to  realize  that  life  is 
more  real  and  earnest  than  a  daydream  of  youth. 
Tin-  mystic  cords  of  memory,  stretching  across  the 
years,  -till  hind  them  close  to  my  heart,  and  I 
thought  it  expedient  to  greet  them  once  more  with 
a  final  heart-to-heart   talk. 

Accordingly,  to  the  young  friends  of  the  ; 
and  present  this  souvenir  i>  affectionately  dedicated 
for   the   purpose  of   re-emphasizing   those  eternal 


FOREWORD 

verities  that  will  abide  when  all  the  things  on  which 
the  human  heart  is  only  too  prone  to  center  its 
affections    shall    have    faded    and    fallen    like    the 

withered  leaves  I  see  from  my  study  window  scat- 
tered about  on  this  cold  autumn  day. 

The  truths  here  presented  make  no  pretension 
to  being  new  nor  novel,  but  they  are  restated  in 
the  hope  that  they  may  tend  to  lead  to  Him  who 
alone  can  prevent  the  heart  from  becoming  callous 
and  vile.  aye.  and  make  it  grow  pure  and  strong 
with  the  growing  years. 

And  should  one  of  these  young  friends,  while 
perusing  these  pages,  find  that  he  or  she  has  be- 
come a  sort  of  prodigal  toward  "our  Father's 
house"  and  "our  mother's  Book."  it  is  you  I  would 
assure  that  God's  house  stands  open  and  that 
eternal  light  of  his  Word  gleams  out  to  you  liktj  a 
beacon  upon  your  pathway  to  lead  you  back  to 
the  compassionate  heart  of  God.  And  when  at 
last  the  day  is  done,  when  the  shadows  lengthen, 
and  the  dark  night  falls,  may  it  be  true  of  you  and 
me.  "At  eventide  it  shall  be  light." 

David  S.  Wahl. 

Edwardsville,  Illinois,  November,  1915. 


Contents 


I.  I  mr  M<  other's  Book         -  13 

II.  I  )ru  Father's  Hoi rsE    - 

III.  I  )ik  (  !ountri  's  <  )m.v  Hon  is 

I\ .  The  E>  ening  of  Lu  b  -  19 


Bbardstov*  n,  Illinois 


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Immanuel  Church,  Edwardsville,  Illinois 


-LEST  WE  FORGET" 

CHAPTER  1 

Our  Mother's  Book 

rs  Wendell  Phillips  went  u\)  and  down 
the  land  delivering  a  lecture  entitled  uThe  I 
Arts."     The  lecture  was  larp  lorification  of 

the  p  Should  9ome  one  write  on  "The  Found 

jht    be   li 
amoi  xnnplishments.    Who  can 

adequately  estimate  in  wh.it  measure  books  have 
influenced  and  molded  our  civilization?     A 
fulfills  the  story  of  a  wandering  Jew,  who  sits 
our  side  and  speaks  to  us  about  what 
and    heard    through    twenty   centuries   of    tra 

wise    the    Arctics   and    the   Tropics,    the 
mountains  and  the  valleys,  and  all  the  generati 
with  their  achievements  I  the  rea 

mind  with  instruction  and  delight;  they  make  us 
temporaii 

m  and  Emerson,  riti/  country  and 

I  the  distant  and  the 

•  kr  us  heirs  of  the  spiritual  life  of  the 

past  ages.     In  the  best  books  k  t<> 

us,    \  most    pro  ious   thoughts  and 

pouring  their  souls  bit 

Hut   ho*   many  l»<><»k^  their  are!     I'   Solomon 
was  led  I 


"LEST  WE  FORGET' 

no  end,"  what  would  he  say  if  he  lived  in  die 
twentieth  century  of  the  Christian  era?  Myriads 
of  books  surround  us.  In  a  classroom  a  teacher 
spoke  of  the  library  of  seventy  thousand  volumes 
in  Alexandria  destroyed  by  fire,  whereupon  one  of 
the  students  heaved  a  deep  sigh  and  expressed  his 
relief  that  the  big  book  house  was  burned  down; 
for  otherwise  there  would  be  so  much  more  to  read 
and  learn.  Yes,  there  are  books,  books,  books  on 
every  hand,  and  just  what  to  read  among  so  many 
is  a  much  mooted  question. 

Among  all  the  books  in  the  world  there  is  one 
that  is  to  be  valued  supremely,  and  that  is  "our 
mother's  Book,"  called  the  Bible.  In  consonance 
with  this  thought,  John  Greenleaf  Whittier,  the 
sweet-spirited  poet  of  freedom  and  humanity,  who 
deeply  cherished  Bible  truth  and  in  many  a  lyric 
sang  it  into  the  souls  of  his  fellow  men,  wrote: 

"We  search  the  world  for  truth; 
We  cull  the  good,  the  pure,  the  beautiful 
From  graven  stone  and  written  scroll, 
And  all  old  flower  fields  of  the  soul; 
And  weary  seekers  of  the  best, 
We  come  back  laden  from  our  quest 
To  find  that  all  the  sages  said 
Is  in  the  Book  our  mothers  read." 

This  "Book"  has  exquisite  literary  merit.     It 
is  a  significant  fact  that  most  writers  of  the  English 
language  show  familiarity  with  the  Bible.     There 
14 


OUR  MOTHER'S  BOOK 

is  more  of  the  Word  in  Shakespeare  than  perhaps 
in  any  other  standard  work  of  literature.  This 
unrivaled  English  writer  has  used  in  his  produc- 
tions not  less  than  five  hundred  and  fifty  biblical 
quotations,  references,  and  allusions.  Of  Lincoln's 
Gettysburg  speech,  the  London  Quarterly  Re\ 
stated  that  it  surpassed  any  production  of  its  class 
known  in  literature.  Mr.  Sunnier  said  of  it  that  it 
was  the  most  finished  piece  of  oratory  he  had  ever 
heard,  but  let  us  remember  thai  Mr.  Lincoln's  let- 
and  addresses  an4  saturated  with  the  spirit  and 
words  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  His  reply  to  Doug- 
icquired  tremendous  power  by  his  quotation 
from  Christ,  "A  house  divided  against  itself  cannot 
Stand."  In  the  absence  of  other  books,  his  mother 
taught  him  daily  from  the  Bible,  and  he  not  only 
grew  familiar  with  its  stories  and  teachings,  but 
al t.-orbed  from  it  a  marvelous  literary  style.  Ac- 
customed to  sit  by  his  mother's  bedside  and  to  read 
to  her  from  the  Bible  main'  hours  at  a  time  during 
a  last  lingering  illness,  he  came  to  know  it  almost 
by  heart,  and  his  own  vigorous  mind  expanded 
and  took  form  tinder  the  spell  of  the  world's 
most    masterful    literature. 

Again,  our  mother's   Hook  meets  the  deepest 

needs  of  humanity.      The    Bible  meets   the   need   of 

a  divine  revelation.  We  have  here  God's  revela- 
tion of  himself  as  nowhere  else  in  all  the  world. 
Take  some  of  the  theories  that  endeavor  to  account 

for  creation  without  a  creator;  what  a  contrast 
to   the   teaching  <>f   the   Bible!     From   the    Bible 

15 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

we  learn  that  matter  did  not  unfold  out  of  itself; 
that  there  was  a  personal  Creator,  a  being  infinitely 
superior  to,  but  not  wholly  unlike  ourselves,  of  whom 
we  may  have  some  valid  conception;  a  being  of 
intelligence,  of  will,  of  emotion;  a  purposing,  think- 
ing, acting,  executing  personality  of  supreme  power; 
a  God  who  is  not  a  tyrant,  but  has  the  heart  of  a 
father,  of  whom  we  read  "Like  as  a  father  pitieth 
his  children,  so  the  Lord  pitieth  them  that  fear 
him."  In  our  "mother's  Book"  we  have  a  revela- 
tion of  the  glorious  truth  that  this  universe  is  not 
soulless,  grinding  us  to  powder,  but  the  threshold 
of  our  Father's  house.  'Tis  true  the  heavens  de- 
clare the  glory  of  God.  Have  we  not  heard  their 
song  of  power,  of  wisdom,  and  of  beauty?  But 
there  is  a  glory  of  God  of  which  the  stars  do  not 
speak;  it  is  a  glory  of  holiness,  love,  and  mercy. 
In  the  Bible  we  are  brought  face  to  face  with  a 
living,  personal,  loving  God. 

The  Scriptures  also  give  the  correct  view  of 
man.  As  a  man  looks  out  into  the  starry  heavens 
he  is  moved  to  exclaim:  "What  am  I?  An  in- 
fant crying  in  the  night,  an  infant  crying  for 
the  light,  and  with  no  language  but  a  cry."  And 
yet  as  we  turn  to  our  mother's  Book,  what  a  sub- 
lime conception  of  man  we  get!  We  read:  "God 
created  man  in  his  own  image;  in  the  image  of 
God  created  he  him;  now  are  we  the  sons  of 
God,  and  it  doth  not  yet  appear  what  we  shall 
be,  but  we  know  that  when  he  shall  appear  we 
shall   be  like  him,  for  we  shall  see  him  as  he  is." 

16 


OUR  MOTHER'S  BOOK 

Again,  this  Book  brings  us  a  revelation  of  salva- 
tion. Man  without  the  salvation  offered  by  the  Bi- 
ble is  led  to  exclaim,  "O  wretched  man  that  I  am! 
Who  shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death?" 
Here  we  have  an  answer  to  one  of  the  deepest  and 
most  awful  questions  of  the  soul.  Here  we  have  a 
gospel  of  hope  for  the  sinner.  It  tells  us  what  our 
goal  is  and  how  to  reach  it,  though  the  mistakes  of 
our  life  have  been  many.  God  was  in  Christ  rec- 
onciling the  world  unto  himself.  This  gospel  has 
proved  itself  to  be  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation. 
The  effect  which  this  Book  has  upon  life  makes  it 
priceless.  Its  influence  upon  character  is  mar- 
velous. Its  subtle  force  grips  and  holds  the  sinner 
who  has  been  an  outcast  from  society,  and  somehow 
uplifts  and  transforms  him  and  makes  him  a  new 
creature  in  Christ  Jesus.  It  gives  comfort  in  sor- 
row, strength  in  weakness,  guidance  in  perplexity, 
gladness  in  sadness,  and  in  death  the  light  of  the 
Eternal  City  of  God. 

No  less  wonderful  is  the  influence  of  the  Bible 
upon  domestic  life.  What  is  the  home  without  the 
enlightening,  purifying,  uplifting,  transforming,  and 
comforting  sway  of  our  mother's  Book?  In  it  are 
found  also  the  ideals  for  social  advancement.  A 
traveler  left  a  garment  at  the  inn  of  a  village  in 
India.  In  this  garment  was  a  small  book  called  the 
Bible.  The  people  of  the  village  read  it  and  said  it 
was  the  truth  by  which  people  should  live.  In  a  very 
short  time  it  transformed  that  old  pagan  commu- 
nity. How  different  the  social  life  of  the  race  if  the 
2  17 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

principles  of  this  Book  were  universally  obeyed! 
Not  until  the  last  wrong  has  been  righted,  the  last 
wound  healed,  the  last  tear  wiped  away  will  this 
sacred  volume  have  accomplished  its  mission.  It 
is  the  Book  of  God  for  the  redemption  of  society. 
The  changeless  principles  enunciated  in  this  volume 
also  constitute  the  foundation  of  our  best  govern- 
ments. The  President  of  the  United  States  of 
America  takes  his  oath  of  office  with  a  Bible  in 
his  hand.  Mr.  Cleveland,  at  his  inauguration, 
selected  a  copy  of  the  Word  of  God  that  his  mother 
gave  hirn  when  a  boy.  We  are  a  Bible  nation,  and 
the  Book  our  mothers  loved  is  the  basis  of  our 
national  life.  As  we  walk  with  Grote  and  Lecky 
and  other  historians  down  the  centuries  we  are 
persuaded  that  it  is  not  an  accident  which  places 
the  Christian  nations  ahead  of  all  others.  It 
is  something  more  than  race,  climate,  or  color 
which  makes  the  people  who  dwell  in  our  fair 
land  different.  The  eagle-eyed  statesman, 
Daniel  Webster,  declares,  "If  we  abide  by  the 
principles  taught  in  the  Bible  our  country  will  go 
on  prospering  and  to  prosper;  but  if  we  and  our 
posterity  neglect  its  instruction  and  its  authority, 
no  man  can  tell  how  sudden  a  catastrophe  may 
overwhelm  us  and  bury  all  our  glory  in  profound 
obscurity."  William  H.  Seward  asserts,  "  the  whole 
hope  of  human  progress  is  suspended  on  the  ever- 
growing influence  of  the  Bible."  When  an  ambas- 
sador from  India  asked  Queen  Victoria  what  the 
secret  of  England's  greatness  was,  the  queen 
18 


OUR  MOTHER'S  BOOK 

summed  up  the  history  of  England  as  a  power 
amid  earth's  nations  as  she  quietly  handed  the 
ambassador  our  mother's  Book  and  replied  to  his 
question,  "Go,  tell  your  prince  that  this  is  the 
secret  of  England's  greatness."  Andrew  Jackson, 
when  dying,  looked  upon  the  family  Bible  and  said 
"That  Book,  sir,  is  the  rock  on  which  the  Republic 
rests." 

The  Bible  is  trustworthy,  and  merits  an  im- 
plicit faith  in  its  teachings  concerning  human  life 
and  destiny  and  in  its  requirements  of  perfect 
obedience.  Where  the  Bible  is  read  and  obeyed 
we  find  not  only  the  individual  enriched  and  blest, 
but  the  home  purified.  It  has  emancipated  the 
slave  and  helped  the  poor.  It  has  organized  the 
great  and  various  charities.  It  has  breathed  new 
life  into  a  dead  world  whose  corruption  seemed 
hopeless,  and  it  has  produced  the  most  glorious 
and  fruitful  of  all  historic  civilizations.  The  tree 
is  known  by  its  fruit.  The  most  of  us  were  led  to 
believe  in  the  Bible  because  of  the  faith  of  our 
fathers  and  mothers.  We  inhaled  this  faith  as 
we  inhaled  the  air;  it  was  the  atmosphere  in  which 
we  were  reared.  We  believed  in  the  Bible  as  con- 
fidently as  we  believed  in  our  mother's  love,  but 
in  the  course  of  time  our  faith  in  the  Book  was 
confirmed  by  our  personal  experience.  There  was 
a  time  w^hen  we  merely  believed  that  our  parents 
loved  us.  But  by  and  by  we  had  experiences  which 
confirmed  this  faith  in  parental  affection,  and  to- 
day for  any  one  to  try  to  shake  our  faith  in  their 
19 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

love  would  be  like  trying  to  shake  Gibraltar  with 
a  straw.  And  so  if  we  at  one  time  did  believe  in 
our  mother's  Book  because  father  and  mother  be- 
lieved or  because  of  the  lives  and  characters  it 
produced,  this  first  belief  has  been  confirmed  by 
our  own  experience,  and  to-day  we  have  a  faith 
that  cannot  be  shaken. 

The  Bible  is  also  a  living  book.  Comparatively 
few  books  live  long.  Some  are  published  which 
create  great  sensations,  are  read  by  hundreds  of 
thousands,  talked  of  in  every  circle  where  the  least 
degree  of  literary  interest  exists,  and  their  con- 
tents discussed  in  nearly  every  important  peri- 
odical. But  in  a  few  years  they  are  almost  for- 
gotten. Some  ten  years  ago  a  very  popular  book 
appeared  fresh  from  the  pen  of  a  well-know~n 
author.  The  price  of  the  book  was  one  dollar  and 
a  half.  About  five  years  later  the  identical  book 
sold  at  fifty  cents.  Like  yesterday's  newspaper,  it 
has  no  vital  message  for  to-day,  and  to-day  it  be- 
longs to  the  dead  books  of  the  world.  Many  of 
the  books  which  have  come  down  to  us  from  the 
beginning  of  our  era  may  be  interesting  as  relics 
of  antiquity,  but  to  the  average  mind  they  are 
utterly  destitute  of  vitality.  We  read  them 
merely  to  study  archaeology  and  history  as  a  stu- 
dent studies  curios  in  a  museum.  The  Bible, 
though  one  of  the  oldest  books  in  the  world,  pos- 
sesses more  vitality  than  any  other  book  either 
ancient  or  modern.  It  is  to-day  the  leading  book 
in  the  most  advanced  and  cultured  nations  of  the 
20 


OUR  MOTHER'S  BOOK 

world.  No  other  has  so  strong  a  hold  on  Europe 
and  America;  no  other  exerts  such  a  wide  influence 
and  effects  such  wholesome  and  remarkable  changes 
in  the  character  and  conduct  of  individuals;  no 
other  is  such  a  potent  factor  in  all  that  goes  to 
make  up  modern  civilization.  When  the  revised 
version  of  the  New  Testament  appeared  in  1885 
the  streets  of  New  York  City  were  blocaded  be- 
cause of  the  w^agonloads  of  Bibles.  One  hundred 
and  eighteen  thousand  words  were  telegraphed  to 
Chicago  so  that  they  might  be  published  with  the 
least  possible  delay  in  the  daily  press.  Certainly 
when  a  book  hoary  with  the  age  of  many  centuries, 
commands  such  an  eager  interest  and  exerts  such  a 
tremendous  present-day  influence  on  the  most  en- 
lightened nations  of  the  race,  we  are  justified  in 
calling  it  a  living  book  and  believing  that  it  will 
abide  "till  the  sun  grows  old  and  the  stars  are  cold 
and  the  leaves  of  the  judgment  book  unfold." 

Our  mother's  Book  is  everybody's  book.  Some 
books  are  written  for  the  rich,  some  for  the  poor, 
some  for  the  learned,  some  for  the  unlearned,  some 
for  little  children,  some  for  adults,  some  are  for 
people  of  one  language  and  some  for  those  of  an- 
other; some  are  for  people  of  one  occupation,  and 
have  no  interest  for  those  following  other  pur- 
suits. There  are  works  on  navigation,  agriculture, 
geology,  biology,  finance,  politics,  archaeology, 
astronomy.  Then  there  are  the  works  of 
mathematics,  music,  sculpture,  architecture, 
painting,  drawing,  and  every  other  conceivable 
21 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

subject.  All  these  run  in  special  lines,  appeal  to 
special  tastes,  and  reach  special  classes. 

The  Bible,  on  the  other  hand,  touches  every 
class.  Translated  into  hundreds  of  languages,  it 
meets  the  needs  of  the  people  on  every  continent 
and  island.  Little  children  lisp  its  sacred  lessons, 
middle-aged  men  love  it,  and  old  men  and  women 
murmur  its  words  of  promise  with  their  dying 
breath.  It  is  the  book  for  all  human  beings  in  all 
ages.  If,  in  the  far-off  future,  there  shall  be  souls 
struggling  for  the  light,  eyes  suffused  with  tears, 
hearts  throbbing  with  anguish,  wayfarers  lost  in 
life's  bypaths,  hoping,  yet  hopeless  ones;  if  human 
nature  retains  its  humanity,  if  love  holds  the  place 
supreme,  and  if  the  mortal  longs  for  immortality, 
this  book  will  abide  with  its  enduring  promises 
like  a  summer  sun  flooding  mankind  with  light 
and  gladness. 

Again,  it  is  the  most  precious  legacy  that 
parents  can  leave  for  their  children.  Money  may 
be  a  blessing,  but  ofttimes  is  a  curse.  But  who  can 
express  in  words  the  benediction  a  Bible  may  be 
for  son  or  daughter?  Some  years  since  a  young 
man's  mother,  nearing  life's  ebb,  named  in  broken 
tones  certain  of  her  possessions  she  desired  should 
fall  to  him.  The  son  to  whom  mother  love  and 
Christian  example  furnished  a  rich  and  rare  endow- 
ment instantly  responded,  "Mother,  there  is  one 
thing  I  would  like — the  old  Bible."  Her  dear  old 
Bible,  of  all  things,  he  desired,  for  in  the  parting 
hour  he  saw  clearly  that  from  it  her  whole  life  had 
22 


OUR  MOTHER'S  BOOK 

derived  its  sweetness  and  power.  Her  unwritten 
history,  childhood,  youth,  mother-life  passed  be- 
fore him  in  a  vision — the  faith  in  God  and  unfalter- 
ing courage,  the  steadfast  patience  and  virtue, 
whether  in  the  valley  or  on  the  mountain  top,  in 
quicksand  or  on  solid  ground,  in  sunshine  or  shadow, 
he  saw  the  fitness  and  answer  of  God's  Word  to  a 
soul's  need.  The  explanation  of  mother's  life  lay 
in  her  love  for  the  old  Book.  Henceforth  his  own 
life  must  be  builded  upon  it,  and  henceforth  God's 
Word  should  have  special  fragrance  and  color  be- 
cause of  her  life.  And  her  own  book,  thumbed 
and  worn,  should  be  his  most  precious  heritage. 

"  This  Book  is  all  that's  left  me  now; 

Tears  will  unbidden  start ; 
With  faltering  lips  and  throbbing  brow 

I  press  it  to  my  heart. 
For  many  generations  past 

Here  is  our  family  tree; 
My  mother's  hands  this  Bible  clasped, 

She,  dying,  gave  it  me." 

The  Bible  is  also  a  book  for  which  there  is  no  sub- 
stitute. When  Stanley  started  across  the  dark  con- 
tinent of  Africa  he  had  seventy-three  books  in  three 
packs  weighing  one  hundred  and  eighty  pounds. 
After  he  had  gone  three  hundred  miles  he  was 
obliged  to  throw  away  some  of  the  books  because 
of  the  fatigue  of  those  carrying  his  baggage.  As 
he  continued  on  his  journey  his  library  in  like  man- 
ner grew  less  and  less  until  he  had  but  one  book 
23 


'LEST  WE  FORGET" 

left,  and  that  was  the  Bible.  It  is  said  that  he  read 
it  through  three  times  during  the  journey.  The 
Bible  is  a  book  for  which  there  can  be  no  substi- 
tute because  it  alone  contains  all  that  meets  the 
deepest  yearnings  of  immortal  souls.  It  has  never 
been  surpassed  or  displaced.  The  sun  easily  and 
certainly  retains  its  primacy.  If  we  are  urged  to 
give  up  the  Bible  we  may  well  reply,  "Not  until  a 
better  is  offered  us."  If  we  had  a  telescope  and  it 
were  not  powerful  enough  to  bring  heavenly  bodies 
so  near  to  us  as  we  might  desire,  or  to  answer  every 
conceivable  astronomical  question,  we  would  not 
fling  it  aside  before  we  had  a  better  one. 

What  is  to  be  our  attitude  toward  our  mother's 
Book?  Bacon  says,  "Some  books  are  to  be  tasted, 
others  to  be  swallowed,  and  some  few  to  be  chewed 
and  digested."  The  Bible  certainly  belongs  to  the 
last  mentioned,  and  yet  what  ignorance  in  respect 
to  biblical  knowledge  among  people  who  should 
be  familiar  with  its  contents!  A  bright  young  col- 
lege student,  well  versed  in  history  and  the  sciences, 
spoke  of  Moses  as  the  one  who  preached  the  sermon 
on  the  mount.  Such  gross  inaccuracy  concern- 
ing things  most  central  to  the  world's  religious 
progress  is  discreditable  to  any  system  of  learning, 
and  such  superfine  culture  must  leave  unstable 
any  edifice  of  human  character. 

The  Bible  is  to  be  used  and  not  misused.  As 
what  is  best  is  not  always  put  to  the  best  use,  so 
there  may  be  a  misuse  of  the  Word  in  lieu  of  faith- 
ful and  earnest  use.  It  is  related  that  a  plow  was 
24 


OUR  MOTHER'S  BOOK 

sent  into  the  wilds  of  Africa,  which  was  received 
with  many  marks  of  appreciation  by  the  natives. 
Following  their  instinct  to  convert  it  into  an  object 
of  worship,  they  gave  it  a  coat  of  red  paint  and 
installed  it  as  one  of  their  gods.  In  their  igno- 
rance these  crude  tribes  misused  this  valuable 
modern  implement  for  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
It  was  intended  to  give  new  vigor  to  mother  earth, 
to  uproot  weed  and  thistle,  to  uncover  buried 
forces  and  to  give  them  a  new  and  untried  life,  and 
from  nature's  silences  to  awaken  a  golden  harvest. 
We  may  thus  misuse  the  Word.  It  must  not  be 
shelved,  but  should  be  used  day  by  day.  It  is  not 
the  subject  for  study  on  Sunday  alone,  but  its  in- 
fluence must  meet  every  daily  need.  It  is  not  a 
fetich,  a  temporary  object  of  worship,  but  a  mes- 
sage of  prophecy  and  revelation,  of  divine  grace 
and  mercy,  to  be  cherished  in  our  inmost  souls 
with  reverence  and  devotion.  The  supreme  mes- 
sage of  the  Bible  is  not  scientific,  but  religious. 
The  Bible  is  not  a  text  book  of  astronomy,  ge- 
ology, or  botany,  nor  merely  a  handbook  for  right 
living,  but  an  infallible  guide  to  the  heart  of  God. 
A  man  traveling  in  the  night  does  not  look  at 
his  lamp  for  flaws,  rather  by  its  light  at  the 
dangers  in  his  pathway. 

How  many  have  testified  to  the  fact  that  the 
Bible  is  the  most  worthy  of  books,  to  be  read,  be- 
lieved, and  obeyed.  Sir  Walter  Scott,  about  to 
leave  this  world,  requested  his  son-in-law,  Mr. 
Lockhart,  to  read  to  him.  "What  book?"  asked 
25 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

Lockhart.  "What  book?"  replied  Sir  Walter 
Scott.  "There  is  but  one  book — the  Bible."  The 
old  dying  Scotchman,  who  has  read  so  widely  and 
contributed  so  many  immortal  pages  to  literature, 
gives  this  as  his  dying  testimony.  With  reverence 
we  should  approach  the  book  which  was  loved  by 
our  fathers  and  dearer  to  our  mothers  than  earth's 
most  precious  jewels.  Millions  have  found  the 
stanza  true: 

"Thou  truest  friend  man  ever  knew, 
Thy  constancy  I've  tried; 
When  all  were  false  I  found  thee  true, 
My  counselor  and  guide." 

Listening  to  the  testimonies  of  the  living  and 
the  dead  from  among  the  world's  truly  great  souls, 
we  are  led  to  resolve  never  to  neglect  to  read  nor 
to  refuse  to  obey  the  book  our  mothers  read.  When 
we  find  another  book  that  produces  better  influ- 
ences for  the  making  of  nobler  manhood  and 
womanhood,  a  richer  life,  a  grander  civilization 
and  brighter  hopes  for  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well 
as  the  life  that  is  to  come,  then,  and  only  then, 
should  we  be  willing  to  neglect  this  book;  then, 
and  only  then,  will  we  cease  to  conform  our  lives 
to  its  teachings;  then,  and  only  then,  will  we  cease 
to  sing: 

"  Holy  Bible,  Book  divine, 
Precious  treasure,  thou  art  mine; 
Mine  to  tell  me  whence  I  came, 
Mine  to  teach  me  what  I  am. 
26 


OUR  MOTHER'S  BOOK 

Mine  to  chide  me  when  I  rove, 
Mine  to  show  a  Saviour's  love; 
Mine  art  thou  to  guide  my  feet, 
Mine  to  judge,  condemn,  acquit. 

Mine  to  comfort  in  distress, 
If  the  Holy  Spirit  bless; 
Mine  to  show  by  living  faith 
Man  can  triumph  over  death. 

Mine  to  tell  of  joys  to  come, 
Light  and  life  beyond  the  tomb; 
Holy  Bible,  Book  divine, 
Precious  treasure,  thou  art  mine. 


27 


CHAPTER  II 
Our  Father's  House 

Japan  has  been  called  a  "nation  in  search  of  a 
new  religion."  Why  "in  search  of  a  new  religion?" 
Why  not  "a  nation  without  a  religion?"  History 
and  observation  substantiate  the  statement  that 
"man  is  incurably  religious."  The  religious  im- 
pulse is  universal.  It  is  found  in  all  classes,  in  all 
climes,  and  in  all  centuries.  Religious  views  may 
come  and  go,  but  religion  is  an  everlasting  reality. 
Some  years  since  there  lived  an  old  colored  preacher 
who  repeatedly  declared,  "The  sun  do  move." 
Some  people  made  merry  at  his  expense.  But  he 
lived  a  consistent  life  and  led  many  of  his  people 
into  the  practice  of  the  Christian  life.  His  igno- 
rance of  science  in  future  years  will  matter  little, 
but  the  virtues  he  practiced  and  inspired  in  others 
will  abide  forever.  Man  may  get  along  without 
scientific  knowledge,  but  not  without  providing  for 
his  religious  nature.  In  view  of  this  fact,  we  have 
no  reasons  to  believe  that  there  ever  will  be  ushered 
in  a  churchless  era.  A  program  for  humanity 
which  omits  the  religious  life,  the  ministry  of  the 
sanctuary,  will  prove  to  be  sadly  deficient.  Our 
world  to-day  has  many  needs,  but  the  spiritual 
needs  are  the  most  imperative.     Deficiency  in  true 

28 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOUSE 

godliness  accounts  for  nearly  all  other  deficiencies. 
The  things  for  which  the  sanctuary  stands  give 
to  life  its  profoundest  meaning. 

Now  the  sanctuary  is  not  to  be  forgotten  nor 
neglected  because  it  is  a  place  of  worship.  Man  is 
made  to  worship.  This  heavenward  tendency  to 
worship  is  no  human  invention,  but  innate.  He 
must  worship;  if  not  God,  then  stone,  gold,  or 
flesh.  The  climax  of  all  man's  faculties  is  a  wor- 
shiping faculty.  Men  have  tried  to  kill  all  faith, 
and  yet  they  could  not  kill  the  demand  to  wor- 
ship. The  essence  of  worship  is  the  spirit  of  rev- 
erence, of  prayer,  and  of  praise.  The  sanctuary  is 
the  shrine  of  worship.  Who  would  say  that  a  man 
is  not  better  and  nobler  for  engaging  in  the  exer- 
cise of  worship,  and  doing  it  regularly?  Who  would 
say  that  the  man  who  does  not  engage  in  it  does 
not  suffer  an  irreparable  loss?  The  influence  of 
"our  Father's  house"  tends  to  bind  together  God 
and  the  human  soul.  Never  does  earth  seem  to 
rise  quite  so  high  nor  heaven  bend  so  low  as  when 
we  worship  in  spirit  and  in  truth. 

The  sanctuary  is  not  only  a  place  of  worship, 
but  also  a  place  of  spiritual  fellowship.  Here  the 
poor  and  the  rich  meet  together  and  acknowledge 
the  Lord  as  the  Maker  of  them  all.  Here  they 
sing: 

"Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds 

Our  hearts  in  Christian  love ; 
The  fellowship  of  kindred  minds 
Is  like  to  that  above." 
29 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

Here  we  feel  that  all  men  are  brothers  and  God 
is  their  Father.  You  remember  after  the  Duke  of 
Wellington  had  returned  from  the  battle  of  Water- 
loo there  was  a  special  service  of  thanksgiving. 
While  Wellington  was  kneeling  in  church  there  came 
a  man  who  had  the  marks  of  poverty  and  hardship 
and  knelt  by  the  side  of  Wellington.  Some  one 
touched  him  and  said  not  to  kneel  so  close,  but  the 
Duke  of  Wellington  said  to  the  man,  "When  we 
kneel  before  God  all  earthly  distinctions  are 
eliminated."  All  come  as  sinners  seeking  salva- 
tion, or  as  children  seeking  a  blessing.  Blessed  is 
the  fellowship  in  our  Father's  house. 

The  idea  of  the  sanctuary  is  that  of  safety. 
In  the  architecture  of  ancient  Egypt  there  are 
found  what  are  called  sanctuary  temples.  Into 
these  sanctuaries  men  came  for  safety  in  hours  of 
danger  and  great  distress.  In  history  we  read 
how  men  came  and  took  hold  upon  the  horns  of 
the  altar.  Dean  Stanley  says  of  Westminster 
Abbey,  "The  precincts  of  Westminster  Abbey 
were  a  vast  cave  of  Adullum  for  all  the  distressed 
and  discontented  in  the  metropolis  who  desired,  in 
the  phrase  of  the  time,  'to  take  Westminster.'  ' 
That  is  to  say,  men  in  danger  found  their  way  in 
the  older  days  into  the  church  and  there  they  were 
considered  safe,  and  their  confidence  was  respected. 

There  is  a  refuge  for  those  who  are  under  the 

burden  of  sin.    All  literature  and  life  are  filled  with 

the  cry  of  men   under   the  dread   burden  of  sin. 

"The    Scarlet    Letter,"    "Faust,"    and    hundreds 

30 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOUSE 

of  other  books  are  only  the  voicing  of  the 
souls'  cry  for  help,  for  salvation  from  sin.  In 
the  sanctuary  men  are  pointed  to  the  cross  of 
Christ  and  hear  a  multitude  who  have  experienced 
the  truth  of  the  song  they  sing: 

"  There  is  a  fountain  filled  with  blood 
Drawn  from  Immanuers  veins, 
And  sinners  plunged  beneath  that  flood 
Lose  all  their  guilty  stains." 

When  daily  duties  grow  wearisome,  details 
bring  friction,  repetition  converts  employment 
into  drudgery,  and  we  for  a  moment  wonder 
whether  life  is  worth  while,  then  out  of  the  dust 
and  turmoil  of  life  we  enter  the  quiet  sanctuary. 
Here  we  find  men,  women,  and  children  engaged 
in  the  same  struggle  with  temptation,  expressing 
the  same  sorrow  in  defeat  and  the  same  joy  in 
victory.  We  see  others  striving  in  their  places 
and  in  their  way  as  we  are  to  make  this  a  better 
and  a  happier  world.  We  realize  that  we  are  not 
alone,  but  that  we  are  one  of  the  great  host  who  are 
working  to  usher  in  the  kingdom  of  God. 

How  many  have  fled  to  the  sanctuary  with 
broken  heart  in  danger  of  falling  in  despair,  as  the 
Hebrew  bard  who  wrote:  "My  feet  were  almost 
gone;  my  steps  had  well  nigh  slipped;  until  I  went 
into  the  sanctuary  of  God."  Then  he  exclaimed, 
"My  flesh  and  my  heart  faileth,  but  God  is  the 
strength  of  my  heart  and  my  portion  forever." 
31 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

How  many  of  those  who  are  singing  in  heaven  are 
praising  God  for  the  fact  that  the  sanctuary  was 
for  them  a  refuge  amid  the  vicissitudes  of  life. 

The  Father's  house  is  also  a  place  of  comfort. 
Where  did  we  go  when  in  childhood  we  needed 
comfort?  Home,  to  our  father's  house.  There  is 
a  universal  need  of  comfort.  There  are  the  sor- 
rows of  youth,  which  are  keenly  felt  because  of 
life's  limitations.  There  is  so  much  to  know,  so 
much  to  do,  such  heights  to  attain,  and  the  way  is 
so  steep  and  rough,  and  the  strength  so  little.  The 
burdens  and  the  responsibilities  of  life  press  upon 
the  youth  for  the  first  time  with  painful  force. 
Then  there  is  the  sorrow  caused  by  death.  Little 
children,  with  their  fresh  and  innocent  lives,  leave 
us.  Young  men  and  maidens  full  of  fair  hopes  and 
beautiful  promises  are  stricken  down.  Men  and 
women  in  the  prime  of  life,  bearing  heavy  burdens, 
leave  us,  and  we  do  not  see  how  we  can  live  without 
them.  The  aged,  weak,  and  infirm  pass  away, 
and  we  are  not  ready  for  it.  Longfellow's  familiar 
words  are  true  to  experience: 

" There  is  no  flock,  however  watched  and  tended. 
But  one  dead  lamb  is  there; 
There  is  no  fireside,  howsoe'er  defended, 
But  has  one  vacant  chair!" 

Then   there  are  deeper  sorrows  than  those  of 
limitation  and  death — the  tragedies  of  moral  fail- 
ure.    A  child  seemingly  trained  with  utmost  care 
32 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOUSE 

enters  the  path  that  leads  to  degradation  and  de- 
struction. The  youth  once  so  pure  and  high- 
minded  grows  coarse  and  skeptical  and  flippant. 
Whither  do  we  go  for  comfort?  To  our  Father's 
house.  How  many  millions  have  found  comfort 
there  that  they  would  not  have  found  elsewhere? 
Another  reason  why  we  cannot  afford  to  neglect 
the  sanctuary  is  the  fact  that  those  who  enter  the 
sanctuary  as  true  worshipers  will  find  new  strength 
for  life's  tasks.  A  stranger  entering  a  city  asked, 
"What  is  that  great  building?"  He  received  the 
reply,  "It  is  a  powerhouse  that  is  felt  constantly 
in  all  parts  of  the  city,  as  many  kinds  of  machin- 
ery are  run  by  it."  The  sanctuary  is  a  powerhouse. 
A  moral  and  spiritual  influence  goes  out  from  it 
every  day  to  benefit  every  side  of  personal  and  so- 
cial life. 

What  is  the  secret  of  the  strength  of  the  most 
influential  men?  William  E.  Gladstone,  we  are 
told,  was  an  ideal  worshiper  in  God's  house.  He 
made  diligent  use  of  the  sanctuary.  In  old  age  he 
declared  that  he  would  not  have  lived  so  long  had 
he  not  kept  his  Sundays  quite  apart  from  his  po- 
litical life.  It  was  refreshment  and  a  source  of 
strength  to  turn  to  the  things  of  our  Father's  house 
on  the  Sabbath  day.  This  gave  him  that  firm  and 
splendid  ground  which  ennobled  and  hallowed  all 
his  actions. 

The  sanctuary  puts  heart  into  men  and  women 
for  the  coming  week.  The  mayor  of  an  American 
city  who  distinguished  himself  and  his  administra- 
3  33 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

tions  by  high  ideals  and  efficiency  in  the  conduct 
of  public  affairs  was  asked  how  he  was  able  to 
resist  so  heroically  the  temptations  to  which  he 
was  exposed.  His  voice  grew  soft  as  he  replied, 
"I  pray.''  Prayer  not  only  transfigures  life,  but 
brings  strength.  "We  kneel,  how  weak;  we  rise, 
how  full  of  power." 

Then  the  sanctuary  is  the  place  where  the  true 
worshiper  enjoys  those  blessings  which  constitute 
a  foretaste  of  heaven.  There  the  noise  and  bustle 
and  din  of  the  world  do  not  disturb;  there  he  feels 
the  cooling  breezes  of  divine  favor,  coming  from  the 
celestial  hills,  so  that  he  realizes  the  truth  of  the 
words : 

"The  hill  of  Zion  yields 

A  thousand  sacred  sweets, 
Before  we  reach  the  heavenly  fields, 
Or  walk  the  golden  street-!" 

There  he  drinks  from  the  fountain  of  life  those 
fresh  waters  of  unending  blessedness;  there  he 
listens  to  the  sounds  of  far-off  music  that  saints 
and  seraphs  make  in  glory;  there  he  holds  sweet 
communion  with  God  himself;  there  truly  he  has 
blessed  foretastes  of  the  glorious  companionships 
and  blissful  employments  of  the  heavenly  sanc- 
tuary. What  hours  of  rapture  have  been  experi- 
enced in  our  Father's  house!  The  sanctuary  is  a 
potent  factor  in  life  because  it  is  a  place  of  sacred 
associations.  There  are  historic  buildings  that 
have  become  all  but  universally  sacred.  It  is  this 
34 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOUSE 

sentiment  for  historic  associations  that  gave  men 
a  shock  when  they  learned  of  the  destruction  of 
Shakespeare's  house.  After  the  poet  had  become 
famous  in  London  he  returned  to  his  birthplace 
and  built  himself  a  house.  There  he  wrote  some  of 
his  greatest  productions.  Beside  his  fireplace  this 
man  of  genius  completed  his  "Winter  Night"  and 
the  story  of  the  white-haired  "King  Lear,"  who 
went  under  the  rain  and  pitiless  storm,  a  king  un- 
cared  for.  By  and  by  the  fireplace  was  torn  out 
beside  which  the  poet  had  sat  many  a  night,  and 
the  window  through  which  he  looked  out  on  the 
garden  was  destroyed.  Soon  the  cellar  alone  re- 
mained. Some  buildings  seem  to  be  almost  holy 
things.  This  is  especially  true  of  our  Father's 
house.  What  hallowed  associations  and  sacred 
memories  cluster  around  the  sanctuary!  There  in 
the  dear  old  church  we  have  had  blessed  seasons 
of  refreshment.  There  God  revealed  himself  to  the 
soul  as  truly  as  to  Jacob  at  Bethel.  As  we  enter 
the  sanctuary  where  in  days  gone  by  we  worshiped, 
faces  and  old  scenes  rise  before  us.  Here  we  offered 
prayers;  here  we  sang  gladsome  hymns;  here 
solemn  vows  were  made;  here  we  consecrated  our- 
selves to  God;  here  we  found  that  peace  which 
passeth  all  understanding;  here  the  soul  was  made 
strong  for  life's  duties  and  temptations;  here  our 
upward  aspirations  were  quickened;  here  the  hands 
of  dear  friends  were  clasped;  here  a  message  from 
the  Book  of  books  was  heard;  here  the  memory  of 
faces  now  vanished  from  our  sight  and  voices  now 
35 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

silent  were  awakened:  here  hope  of  future  blessed- 
ness was  renewed  ;  here  we  received  inspiring  visions 
of  that  glorious  and  eternal  home  of  the  redeemed. 
Can  we  afford  to  forget  or  neglect  such  a  place? 
One  day  a  young  man  was  found  in  the  pulpit  of 
a  certain  church  in  which  the  preacher  had  breathed 
his  last  breath  while  in  the  pulpit.  There  was  the 
son  of  this  godly  man  on  his  knees,  sobbing  before 
God  and  praying  for  grace  that  he  might  follow 
his  father's  God.  Perhaps  we  may  not  have  mem- 
ories quite  as  impressive  as  that,  but  there  are 
many  of  us  who  know  very  well  what  made  father 
and  mother  what  they  were:  it  was  their  piety,  and 
their  piety  was  nourished  in  the  sanctuary.  The 
sanctuary  should  be  a  potent  incentive  for  us  to  say, 
"My  father's  God,  I  will  exalt  him."  How  insig- 
nificant are  some  of  the  world's  magnificent  struc- 
tures compared  with  the  modest  church  called  our 
Father's  house!     May  our  prayer  be  to  God: 

"As  the  years  roll  over, 

And  strong  affections  twine, 
And  tender  memories  gather 

About  this  sacred  shrine, 
May  this  its  chief  distinction, 

Its  glory,  ever  be, 
That  multitudes  within  it 

Have  found  their  way  to  Thee." 

Jesus    gave    expression    to    a    significant    truth 
when  he  said,  "Man  shall  not  live  by  bread  alone." 
There  are  human  needs  deeper,    infinitely  deeper, 
36 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOUSE 

and  more  persistent  than  the  needs  of  material 
things.  The  materialistic  spirit  is  fierce,  tempta- 
tions assail  on  every  side,  and  the  tendency  to  look 
down  instead  of  up  is  so  strong  that,  without  one 
day  in  the  week  in  which  man  dwells  in  his  Father's 
house,  he  will  find  himself  gradually  going  down. 
A  man  whose  salary  is  twenty-five  thousand 
dollars  per  year  said : 

"Men  are  sure  to  retrograde  and  lose  ground  if 
they  neglect  the  church.  My  prosperity  will  be  my 
defeat  unless  I  am  careful.  I  find  now  that  I  am 
constantly  thinking  of  business  and  scheming  to 
increase  my  riches."  The  function  of  the  sanc- 
tuary is  to  lift  man  above  the  things  of  time  and 
sense  into  the  region  of  the  eternal  and  imperish- 
able ideals.  This  is  the  great  need  of  every  age. 
We  are  not  to  forget  that  the  flowers  get  their 
fragrance  and  beauty  largely  from  the  heavens 
above.  The  influences  of  the  house  of  God  tend  to 
drive  out  of  human  life  the  devils  of  lust,  of  greed, 
and  of  selfishness  in  every  form,  and  to  enthrone 
the  Christ  spirit  of  unselfishness  and  love.  The 
tendency  is  to  lift  the  whole  life  to  a  higher  and 
grander  and  more  useful  plane.  What  a  blessing 
that  on  the  Sabbath  day  the  church  bell  calls 
weary  souls  to  forget  the  noise  and  din  and  to  come 
and  worship,  to  receive  new  visions  and  renewed 
strength!  We  are  rightly  to  value  the  ministries 
of  our  Father's  house.  The  inscription  on  a  cer- 
tain church  reads,  "Around  this  temple  let  the 
merchant's  law  be  just,  his  weights  be  true,  and 
37 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

his  covenants  faithful."  A  beautiful  epitome  of 
the  influences  which  radiate  from  the  sanctuary  to 
elevate  and  purify  the  world.  Such  influences  that 
bring  pure  joy  and  true  inspiration  for  everyday 
life,  which  would  be  drudgery  without  this  inspira- 
tion, are  above  price.  Who  can  adequately  measure 
the  value  of  the  sanctuary  to  the  world?  Every 
part  of  the  service  furnishes  relief  from  the  rush 
and  stress,  the  burdens  and  cares  of  the  week. 
The  music  calms  and  refreshes.  The  hymns  lift 
the  soul  above  the  plane  of  the  secular  and  common- 
place. The  message  from  the  Bible  brings  a  sense 
of  responsibility  and  encouragement  not  suggested 
by  the  daily  activities.  Thus  the  sanctuary  be- 
comes one  of  the  most  important  agencies  in  build- 
ing Christlike  characters  to  go  forth  as  the  light 
of  the  world  and  salt  of  the  earth.  Such  men, 
women,  and  children  trained  and  equipped  in  the 
Sunday  school  and  church  services  are  the  best 
gift  to  a  community.  They  go  out  into  a  world  of 
business,  into  political  life,  into  the  work  of  edu- 
cation, philanthropy,  charity,  and  into  all  the 
walks  of  life  taking  with  them  the  principles  and 
ideals  which  make  for  righteousness  and  true 
prosperity. 

We  are  to  avail  ourselves  of  the  opportunities 
to  make  the  most  of  God's  house.  When  the  bell 
sounds  forth  the  invitation,  may  we  share  the  feel- 
ing of  the  Hebrew  bard  when  he  wrote,  "I  was 
glad  when  they  said  unto  me,  Let  us  go  into  the 
house  of  the  Lord."  The  reason  some  absent 
38 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOUSE 

themselves  from  the  church  is  that  they  have 
a  wrong  conception  of  its  blessings.  We  pass 
a  large  church  building,  and  in  passing  we  are 
told  that  a  certain  window  is  rich  in  coloring. 
As  we  look  at  the  window,  however,  we  see  noth- 
ing but  pieces  of  dull  glass  held  together  by  strips 
of  lead.  There  is  no  design,  no  beauty.  It  is 
all  blurred,  indistinct,  and  dark.  There  is  noth- 
ing remarkable  about  that  window,  we  say,  but  as 
we  enter  we  see  a  blaze  of  light  streaming  in 
through  that  window  in  diversified  tints.  It  is 
gorgeous,  magnificent,  indescribable.  We  may  re- 
main outside  of  the  sanctuary  and  ask,  "What  has 
the  sanctuary  for  me? "  But  for  the  true  worshiper 
howr  soul  enriching!  There  are  those  who  have  in 
a  measure  atrophied  their  spiritual  natures.  They 
have  starved  their  souls.  Their  life  lacks  spiritual 
communion,  a  vision  of  unseen  realities.  Their 
lives  seem  bounded  by  a  cradle  at  one  end  and  a 
grave  at  the  other.  They  who  undervalue  the 
sanctuary  do  not  realize  the  injury  they  are  inflict- 
ing upon  themselves  and  others. 

Let  us  make  the  sanctuary  an  inviting  and  help- 
ful place  for  those  who  enter  its  portals.  We  are 
to  do  our  utmost  to  make  the  sanctuary  our  spir- 
itual home,  our  Father's  house,  where  God's  chil- 
dren gather  as  members  of  the  great  divine  family. 
Therefore  the  keynote  must  be  love.  May  we  ever 
have  a  fervent  love  for  our  Father's  house  as  the 
Psalmist,  who  wrote:  "How  amiable  are  thy 
tabernacles,  O  Lord  of  Hosts!  My  soul  longeth, 
39 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

yea,  even  fainteth  for  the  courts  of  the  Lord;  my 
heart  and  my  flesh  cry  out  for  the  living  God. 
For  a  day  in  thy  courts  is  better  than  a  thousand. 
I  would  rather  be  a  doorkeeper  in  the  house  of  my 
God  than  to  dwell  (for  a  long  time)  in  the  tents  of 
wickedness." 

In  his  book  "  Laymen  in  Action,"  Bishop 
William  A.  Quayle  writes:  "My  father  was  a 
Kansas  farmer.  In  old  days  he  had  been  a  sea- 
faring man,  and  after  that  a  miner,  and  in  later 
years  a  farmer,  and  his  hands  were  hard  and  never 
manicured.  He  belonged  to  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  and  loved  it,  too.  He  never  faltered 
in  his  love  and  faithfulness.  He  was  a  man  of  huge 
seafaring  voice  and  whispered  like  a  gale  of  sea 
storm  winds.  He  was  everything  in  the  church 
by  turns,  and  sometimes  all  at  once.  He  was 
trustee,  steward,  classleader,  and  on  Thursday 
evenings,  when  we  were  farmers  together,  he 
stopped  early  so  that  he  might  be  at  the  prayer- 
meeting.  He  was  never  absent.  When  there  was 
no  janitor,  my  father  was  janitor.  He  raised  the 
preachers  salary.  I  never  knew  a  preacher  to 
leave  a  charge  unpaid  when  my  father  was  alive, 
and  I  think  they  got  so  in  the  habit  of  paying  then 
that  never  since  his  death  have  they  failed  to  be 
honest  with  their  minister.  His  house  was  where 
the  new  minister  came  when  he  landed  in  the 
town;  for  his  predecessor  told  him  to  go  to  Uncle 
Tommy's,  and  he  went;  and  there  was  no  haste 
about  his  moving  to  his  new  home.  He  was  very 
40 


OUR  FATHER'S  HOUSE 

welcome  and  his  family  with  him.  And  all  sorts 
of  things  my  father  did  for  the  preacher,  and  gladly, 
never  grudgingly.  He  wanted  to  do  things  for 
the  church.  You  could  not  keep  him  from  it.  He 
loved  it  and  that  was  the  end  of  it.  At  the 
preaching  service  he  would  sit  on  the  front  seat 
with  his  bearded  chin  in  his  hands  and  look  at  the 
preacher,  look  and  drink  of  the  water  of  life;  and 
his  face  was  beautiful  to  see.  He  looked  like  John 
Ruskin,  strangely  so,  like  a  rural  John  Ruskin,  and 
all  the  poetry  John  Ruskin  had  for  beauty,  that 
poetry  my  father  had  for  the  church.  All  its 
services  were  benedictions  to  him.  "What  will  we 
do,  Uncle  Tommy,  when  you  are  not  here?"  was 
what  folks  would  say  to  him  often,  very  often. 
They  needed  him. 

"And  one  day,  far  away  from  his  little  home 
town,  he  died  in  hearing  of  the  sea,  and  came  back 
alone  on  a  long  pilgrimage  of  silence  to  his  little 
church;  for,  to  be  sure  he  must  be  buried  from  that. 
And  the  storm  was  wild  that  day  of  the  funeral, 
and  the  wind  swept  and  the  snows  whirled  and 
drifted  and  the  lanes  were  deep  with  snow  and  the 
wind  nipped  like  the  edge  of  a  dagger;  and  there 
in  the  little  church,  where  he  should  sit  no  more, 
he  lay  at  the  chancel,  hands  folded,  face  asleep, 
and  the  preacher  rose  to  speak.  The  little  church 
was  full  and  the  faces  were  sad  to  see.  There 
were  sobs  ere  any  word  was  spoken  or  any  song 
hymned.  Uncle  Tommy  was  come  to  his  beloved 
church  for  the  last  time.  And  the  preacher  rose 
41 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

and  subbed  rather  than  said,  'Brother  Quayle 
loved  the  church,'  and  there  was  a  sob.  I  hear  it 
yet.  It  was  the  sob  of  a  church.  The  service 
passed,  and  people  came  and  laid  their  hands  on 
my  shoulder  and  said,  'Will,  your  father  loved  the 
church,'  and  then  they  could  say  no  farther  for 
their  weeping.  And  strong  men  laid  their  heads 
on  my  shoulder,  saying,  if  sobbing  may  be  called 
saying,  'What  will  our  church  do  when  Uncle 
Tommy  is  gone  from  us?' 

"And  I,  this  farmer's  son,  who  had  read  much 
history  and  knew  the  world's  dignitaries  as  their 
names  are  written  down  in  history  in  the  indelible 
ink  of  great  achievements,  was  that  stormy  day  of 
burial  of  my  father  prouder  to  be  the  son  of  a  man 
who  loved  the  church  than  to  have  been  a  son 
of  an  emperor. 

"And  if  I,  his  son,  were  to  fail  or  falter  in  love 
to  the  church  or  fealty  to  it,  my  father's  voice 
would  sound  like  the  sound  of  drums  through  my 
neglect,  'Boy,  you  are  my  boy,  and  you  must  love 
the  church."  And,  God  being  my  helper,  I  will. 
Write  this  above  my  father's  grave: 

'He  loved  the  church.' 

"And  the  angels  will  come  to  read  that  epitaph." 
Shall  not  we,  too,  love  the  church  and  be  faith  - 
ful  to  its  claims? 


42 


CHAPTER  III 
Our  Country's  Only  Hope 

The  annals  of  the  world  are  a  record  of  changes, 
a  record  of  powers  born,  that  waxed  strong,  flour- 
ished, and  decayed.  In  turning  over  the  pages  of 
history  we  are  met  on  every  hand  by  the  ruins  of 
nations  once  powerful  and  prosperous.  Kingdoms 
came  and  passed  away;  empires  flourished  and  de- 
cayed; republics  rose  and  fell;  and  at  the  former 
seat  of  power,  glory,  and  dominion  we  see  to-day 
vveakness,  desolation,  and  subjugation. 

What  then,  weighing  the  future  by  the  past, 
will  be  the  fate  of  America?  Will  she  too  present 
to  coming  generations  so  sad  a  spectacle  as  those 
handed  down  to  us?  Will  her  history  so  glorious 
in  the  past,  so  jubilant  and  conquering  now,  go 
forward  only  to  end  in  the  hushed  knell  of  death 
and  funeral  pyres?  We  answer,  God  forbid  such  a 
fate! 

America  is  beyond  doubt  a  favored  spot.  The 
Creator  of  continents  has  blessed  us  with  special 
natural  advantages.  Endowed  as  we  are  with  an 
extensive  territory,  sweeping  from  ocean  to  ocean, 
and  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Great  Lakes;  with  unpar- 
alleled treasures  in  mines  and  fertility  of  soil;  with 
a  rare  network  of  waterways  and  unequaled  ad- 
43 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

vantages  of  transportation  on  land  and  sea,  we 
are,  perhaps,  the  most  wealthy  and  advantageously 
situated  people  among  all  nations  of  the  world. 
But  will  these  assure  future  preservation  and  con- 
tinued prosperity?  Go  ask  the  sage  centuries  of 
the  past,  and  they  answer,  "No."  We  see  dead 
nations  rising,  as  it  were,  from  the  tombs,  and  like 
specters  calling  across  the  centuries,  "No,  no, 
no."  Unless  material  prosperity  be  used  in  the 
right  way  it  will  only  tend  to  effeminate  a  nation 
and  serve  as  fuel  to  hasten  the  great  conflagration. 
Neither  are  great  armies  and  navies,'  nor 
brilliancy  of  intellect,  literature,  science,  or  art 
sufficient  requisites  for  ultimate  preservation. 
Greece,  polished  and  learned,  famed  the  world  over 
for  culture  and  thought,  on  one  hand,  and  Rome, 
conquering  and  mighty  in  war,  flying  her  peerless 
eagles  over  the  prostrate  battlements  of  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  on  the  other  hand,  have  conclusively 
proved  that  the  safety  of  a  people  lies  not  in  strength 
of  intellect,  nor  rrlight  of  arms.  Therefore  these 
advantages,  very  desirable  in  themselves,  are  insuf- 
ficient safeguards  for  our  government  in  days  of  ad- 
versity. What  then  of  ultimate  America?  Shall 
we,  heedless  of  the  warning  death  knell  of  other 
nations  equally  favored,  be  so  blinded  by  the  daz- 
zling splendor  of  material  welfare  and  intellectual 
achievements  as  not  to  see  or  anticipate  any 
danger?  What  though,  by  our  unrivaled  position, 
we  are  in  no  danger  of  European  subjugation? 
What  though  we  can  successfully  close  our  ports 
•    44 


OUR  COUNTRY'S  ONLY  HOPE 

against  Mongolian  hordes?  Is  it  not  possible  that 
in  the  very  bosom  of  cultured  America  there  may 
be  engendered  malignant  forces  sufficient  for  her 
overthrow?  Are  there  not  already  maladies 
which  are  silently  but  not  less  surely  eating 
at  the  very  vitals  of  our  nation?  The  atmos- 
phere is  full  of  ominous  signs.  High  surge  the 
tides  of  immorality,  vice,  depravity,  and  crime. 
The  strife  between  capital  and  labor  waxes 
hotter  and  hotter.  Our  pclitical  liberties  and 
national  institutions  tremble  like  a  leaf  in  a 
hurricane  blast  under  the  nefarious  and  insidious 
attacks  made  upon  them.  A  prospect  of  gloom, 
foreboding,  and  strife.  What  can  save  us?  What 
can  prevent  the  deluge  and  turn  the  tide  from  our 
beloved  shores?  If  wealth,  power,  and  education 
are  not  sufficient  safeguards  of  naticnal  security, 
what  is?  There  is  only  one  balm  for  our  people, 
only  one  port  of  safety  against  coming  storms, 
only  one  remedy  for  all  pclitical  and  social  evils, 
and  its  name  is  "Christianity."  In  genuine 
Christianity  is  our  only  hope  anchored.  This  it 
is  that  has  been  the  light  and  life  of  our  country 
in  the  past.  It  rocked  the  cradle  of  our  national 
birth,  hovered  over  us  in  infancy,  was  the  guide 
of  our  youth  and  guardian  of  our  manhood.  It 
was,  is  now,  and  always  will  be  the  guardian 
angel  of  our  national  life.  The  spirit  of  Christianity, 
pervading  all,  vivifies,  elevates,  and  ennobles.  It 
awakens  true  humanity ;  it  frees  the  slaves  of  every 
type;  it  begets  and  fosters  the  love  of  freedom, 
45 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

home,  and  fatherland.  It  brings  independence  to 
the  individual;  love  and  harmony  to  the  family, 
fraternity  and  equality  to  the  people,  true  patri- 
otism to  the  citizen,  and  unity  to  a  nation.  Take 
away  Christianity  and  you  destroy  the  very  foun- 
dation of  our  individual  and  national  character. 
Without  it  true  morality  expires;  happiness  is 
blasted;  patriotism  fades  away;  political  death  en- 
sues; virtue  sickens  and  dies,  and  with  its  death 
the  nation  will  sink  into  its  tomb. 

Woe  to  that  people  who  link  their  fortune  to 
anything  contrary  to  the  immutable  laws  of  Je- 
hovah, for  their  doom  is  nigh!  Read  the  history  of 
the  rise,  progress,  and  decay  of  nations,  and  you 
will  see  written  across  its  pages  in  large  letters  of 
fire  these  words  of  warning:  "Righteousness  ex- 
alteth  a  nation;  but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people." 
What  city,  nation,  government,  or  power  founded 
upon  unrighteousness  and  living  without  the  favor 
of  God  ever  survived?  Did  Egypt,  rich  and 
mighty,  boasting  in  her  greatness  and  scorning  at 
righteousness?  See  how  her  power  has  crumbled, 
her  thrones  have  fallen  until  she  crouches  low  at 
the  feet  of  the  mighty  of  earth.  Where  to-day  is 
the  power  and  glory  of  world-famed  Babylon? 
Buried  in  the  sands  of  the  desert,  together  with 
Xineveh,  her  rival  in  sin  and  ungodliness.  Yea, 
Rome,  too,  the  "Mistress  of  the  World,"  at  whose 
tread  the  nations  trembled,  who  crushed -everything 
beneath  her  iron  heel,  when  her  people  became 
pregnant  with  iniquity  and  trampled  underfoot 
46 


OUR  COUNTRY'S  ONLY  HOPE 

truth,  virtue,  and  righteousness,  could  not  stand. 
but  became  the  prey  of  her  own  depravity,  and 
was  humbled  to  dust.  All  these  demonstrate  the 
great  truth  that  "the  nation  or  kingdom  that 
will  not  serve  God  shall  perish." 

Will  America  doubt  the  uniformity  of  the  di- 
vine judgment  thus  revealed  throughout  the  ages? 
Ah,  let  her  ponder  and  consider  well!  How  dare 
she  hope  to  be  an  exception  to  the  working  of  im- 
mutable laws  of  the  Supreme  Ruler?  Nay,  though 
mountains  crumble  and  fall,  continents  tremble 
and  divide;  though  institutions  pass  away  and 
systems  of  government  disappear,  not  a  jot  of 
divine  law  will  fail  or  fall.  If  America  should  ever, 
as  a  nation,  turn  away  from  the  Most  High,  then 
will  her  free  institutions  be  buried  in  disgrace. 
Shall  we  fall  and  thus  go  on  record  as  another 
warning  to  posterity?  God  save  America!  May 
the  lessons  of  past  generations  serve  as  a  solemn 
warning  for  her.  May  she  heed  the  voice  of  his- 
tory and  learn  that  true  religious  principles  alone 
are  a  safe  basis  for  all  true  government,  as  well  as 
continued  prosperity. 

Therefore  let  it  strike  home  to  every  heart 
that  Christianity  is  "our  country's  only  hope!" 
Let  every  one  rise  to  his  mission  in  thoroughly 
Christianizing  America  and  in  making  honest,  in- 
telligent, and  Christian  patriots  of  its  citizens,  so 
that  the  shout  may  go  around  the  globe,  "America 
is  a  Christian  nation  in  name  and  in  deed." 

Then,  favored  in  the  sight  of  God,  no  future 
47  ^ 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

will  be  too  grand  for  America,  no  language  rich 
enough  to  paint  the  picture  of  that  joyous  day 
which  will  usher  in  ultimate  America,  the  bright 
and  shining  jewel  of  all  the  world's  possessions. 


48 


CHAPTER  IV 

The  Evening  of  Life 

"Will  you  love  me  when  I'm  old?"  The 
bridegroom,  a  cautious  man,  hesitated  a  moment, 
for  he  knew  something  of  human  nature;  then 
answered,  "Yes,  darling,  if  you  are  lovable." 
There  is  a  great  difference  between  old  age  and  old 
age.  There  is  an  old  age  that  is  abject  and  pitiable. 
There  are  people  who  shrivel  as  they  grow  old, 
becoming  poorer  and  meaner  in  heart  and  life  as 
the  years  go  by.  A  Godless  old  age  is  ugly  and  de- 
formed, dark  and  despairing.  To  see  men  who  are 
advanced  in  years  looking  for  enjoyment  where 
none  is  to  be  found,  actually  incapacitated  for  hap- 
piness, is  a  sight  sad  enough  to  make  angels  weep. 
Here  is  Byron,  an  old  man  before  life's  meridian  is 
reached,  who  might  be  singing  about  the  glory  of 
the  eventide  of  life,  but  instead  lamenting: 

"My  days  are  in  the  yellow  leaf, 

The  flowrer  and  fruit  of  love  are  gone; 
The  worm,  the  canker,  and  the  grief 

Are  mine  alone ! 
The  fire  that  on  my  bosom  preys 

Is  lone  as  some  volcanic  isle ; 
No  torch  is  kindled  at  its  blaze, 

A  funeral  pile." 

But  if  there  is  an  old  age  that  is  pitiful,  there 
is  also  an  old  age  that  is  beautiful.     There  is  a 
4  49 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

glory  of  the  morning,  there  is  a  glory  of  the  evening, 
there  is  a  glory  of  the  springtime  with  its  fragrant 
flowers  and  singing  birds;  there  is  also  a  glory  of 
the  autumn  time  wdth  trees  ablaze  in  gorgeous 
hue.  Youth  has  its  glory,  and  so  has  old  age.  There 
is  the  kind  of  growing  old  that  means  growing  ripe 
and  rich  and  sweet  and  strong.  There  have  been 
those  who  have  reached  life's  eventide  and  said 
that  the  happiest  time  of  life  is  not  youth,  but  old 
age.  When  Fontanelle  was  asked  what  period  of 
life  he  considered  the  most  fortunate,  he  replied, 
"From  sixty  to  eighty."  At  that  age  one  reaps 
what  he  has  sown.  It  is  the  harvest  time.  Yet 
there  are  not  a  few  who  rebel  against  growing  old. 
They  look  upon  old  age  as  a  calamity.  They  ask, 
"What  is  left  to  live  for  when  the  charm  of  youth 
has  faded  and  the  strength  of  manhood  has  de- 
parted?" It  has  been  said,  "We  hope  to  grow  old, 
and  yet  we  fear  old  age."  Why  this  horror  of  being 
old?  This  dread  of  growing  old  is  partly  due  to 
the  physical  disabilities  that  come  with  the  years. 
The  poet,  thinking  of  these  infirmities  of  age, 
wrote : 

"  I'm  growing  fonder  of  my  staff, 

I'm  growing  dimmer  in  the  eyes; 

I'm  growing  fainter  in  my  laugh; 

I'm  growing  deeper  in  my  sighs; 

I'm  growing  careless  of  my  dress; 

I'm  growing  frugal  of  my  gold; 

I'm  growing  wise;  I'm  growing,  yes — 
I'm  growing  old." 
SO 


THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE 

Another  reason  why  some  dread  old  age  is  the 
fact  that  many  of  those  we  love  pass  beyond  the 
bound  of  life  and  leave  us  behind.  Old  age  is 
sometimes  very  lonely.  School  friends  with  whom 
the  old  man  plodded  to  the  district  school,  where 
are  they?  Those  with  whom  he  associated  in  his 
college  days,  where  are  they?  Father  and  mother 
and  others  of  the  family  circle,  where  are  they? 
Ah !  during  the  march  of  the  years  they  have  passed 
on  before,  and  he  himself  is  left  like  a  solitary  tree 
in  a  dreary  waste.  This  was  one  of  Bismarck's 
complaints  when  old.  How  many  sigh  in  their  de- 
clining years,  "Oh  for  the  touch  of  a  vanished 
hand  and  the  sound  of  a  voice  that  is  still ! ' '  This 
solitude  seems  cause  for  shrinking  from  the  very 
thought  of  growing  old. 

But  notwithstanding  these  and  other  reasons, 
the  fact  remains  that  a  bright,  happy,  and  useful 
old  age  is  possible  for  all  who  in  the  providence  of 
God  reach  the  three  score  years  and  ten  or  more. 
If  this  is  to  be  our  happy  lot,  we  must  not  forget 
that  a  blessed  old  age  can  only  be  realized  if  cer- 
tain conditions  are  met. 

It  is  important  that  we  retain  a  lively  interest 
in  the  growing  world.  We  are  to  keep  our  minds 
open  to  the  new  things  the  world  is  learning  and 
doing,  open  to  the  last  word  of  human  progress. 
We  must  welcome  it  with  youthful  gladness.  We 
are  not  to  lose  the  enthusiasm,  the  zest  of  life.  We 
are  to  remain  in  touch  with  the  world  in  which  we 
live.  One  of  the  great  thoughts  which  will  tend  to 
51 


"LEST    WE  FORGET" 

make  life's  evening  bright  is  this:  God  is  the 
author  and  impulse  of  the  great  movement  in  which 
I  live;  that  movement  is  the  one  force  which  binds 
age  to  age;  it  is  the  soul  of  history;  it  is  the  march 
of  God;  I  shall  league  my  life  with  this  movement 
which  runs  so  swiftly  toward  the  eternal  good. 
What  a  potent  factor  such  a  conception  of  life  and 
the  consciousness  that  we  are  doing  our  duty  until 
life's  latest  hour!  Such  a  man,  faithful  unto  the 
end,  will  never  feel  himself  to  be  cast  away  rub- 
bish in  God's  universe,  but  may  sing  hopefully  and 
triumphantly: 

"I  doubt  not  through  the  ages  one  increasing  pur- 
pose runs. 
And  the  thoughts  of  men  are  widened  with  the 
process  of  the  suns." 

This  spirit  of  Christian  optimism  enabled  Long- 
fellow at  the  age  of  seventy-five  years  to  sing: 

4 'Out  of  the  shadows  of  night 
The  world  rolls  into  light; 
It  is  daybreak  everywhere." 

If  we  are  to  enjoy  a  happy  old  age,  it  is  of  great 
moment  that  we  start  in  the  right  direction  all 
through  life's  beginnings.  A  young  lady  who  was 
expressing  great  admiration  for  the  face  and  char- 
acter of  a  saintly  old  lady  said,  "I  wouldn't  mind 
growing  old  if  I  knew  I  should  look  like  her  when 
I'm  her  age."  One  who  overheard  her  said :  "Then 
52 


THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE 

you  must  begin  at  once.  Such  characters  and  faces 
as  hers  are  not  made  in  a  hurry.  She  has  been  a 
pupil  of  Christ  all  her  life."  If  youth  and  man- 
hood have  been  wasted  we  cannot  expect  to  find 
that  measure  of  light  at  eventide  that  would  have 
been  ours  if  our  days  of  youth  had  J^een  spent  in 
the  ways  of  righteousness.  Therefore  it  is  of  im- 
portance that  we  begin  to  prepare  for  old  age  dur- 
ing the  years  that  lead  up  to  it.  Life's  evening 
takes  its  character  from  the  day  that  precedes  it. 
Again,  to  grow  old  gracefully  we  need  to  learn 
that  every  period  of  human  life  has  its  particular 
privilege,  its  particular  duty,  its  particular  glory. 
God  has  blessed  and  hallowed  every  era  of  our 
earthly  existence.  "Age  is  opportunity  no  less 
than  youth."  As  there  is  beauty  after  its  kind  in 
every  season,  so  every  period  of  human  life — child- 
hood, manhood,  and  old  age — is  made  beautiful 
in  its  time.  People  would  not  pity  aged  persons 
if  they  realized  that  old  age  has  beauties  of  its  own 
not  less  satisfying  than  youth.  A  man  at  forty 
does  not  seek  enjoyment  in  the  toys  of  childhood. 
These  have  been  outgrown.  He  is  interested  in 
larger  things.  So  happy  old  age  does  not  sigh  for 
the  blossoms  that  have  faded,  but  gathers  with 
joy  the  ripe  fruits  of  the  full  wisdom  and  affection 
that  come  with  the  years.  Although  departing 
youth  takes  away  some  things,  old  age  brings  other 
things  more  precious,  things  that  can  only  come 
with  the  years.  Richter  says,  "Like  a  morning 
dream,  life  becomes  more  and  more  bright  the 
53 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

longer  we  live."  Old  age  is  not  to  be  regarded  as 
a  wreck  of  youth  and  manhood,  but  as  the  con- 
summation of  life. 

Faith  in  God  through  Jesus  Christ  is  that  which 
above  everything  else  helps  to  make  life's  sunset 
bright  and  useful.  A  happy  old  age  means  an  old 
age  made  happy  by  the  Christ  of  Paul,  who  wrote: 
"For  which  cause  we  faint  not,  but  though  our 
outward  man  perish,  yet  the  inward  man  is  re- 
newed day  by  day."  Dr.  A.  J.  Gordon,  meeting 
an  aged  man  who  was  on  his  way  to  the  sanctuary, 
said,  "Friend,  how  is  it  that  so  old  a  man  is  so 
merry  and  cheerful?"  "Because  I  belong  to  the 
Lord,"  was  the  reply.  Dr.  Gordon  said,  "Are  no 
others  happy  at  your  time  of  life?  The  bent  form 
straightened  and  the  countenance  glowed  as  he 
said,  "Listen  to  the  truth  from  one  who  knows, 
then  tell  it  everywhere,  and  no  man  of  three  score 
and  ten  can  be  found  to  gainsay  it:  the  devil  has 
no  happy  old  men."     Walking  by  a  bed  of  sweet 

5,  a  pastor  said  to  a  man  eighty-four  years  of 
age,  "Tell  me  what  makes  some  of  those  sweet 
peas  pink  and  others  white."  His  answer  contained 
but  one  word,  "God."  What  makes  some  old  peo- 
ple content  and  a  benediction  to  all  with  whom 
they  come  in  contact,  though  others  are  a  curse  to 
themselves  and  to  others?  The  answer  is  "God." 
A  life  lacking  faith  in  God,  a  Godless  life,  cannot 
be  truly  happy;  and  a  life  of  faith,  a  Godly  life, 
cannot  be  without  joy  or  helpfulness  to  the  world. 

If  we  are  to  learn  the  art  of  growing  old  grace- 
54 


THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE 

fully,  it  is  important  that  we  ever  bear  in  mind 
that  the  aged  have  a  mission  as  well  as  those  who 
are  in  the  meridian  of  life.  How  the  notion  that 
life's  usefulness  has  ended  paralyzes  the  soul!  A 
mother  of  about  four  score  sent  for  her  son  and 
said  to  him,  "Frederick,  I  think  the  time  has  come 
that  I  am  to  leave  the  world."  u  Why  do  you  think 
so,  mother?"  he  asked.  " Because  the  Lord  does 
not  seem  to  have  anything  more  for  me  to  do; 
nobody  seems  to  need  me."  "You  are  mistaken, 
mother,"  the  son  replied;  "there  was  a  Jew  here  a 
few  days  ago  in  much  distress,  wishing  that  he 
might  see  you  and  get  some  advice  from  you." 
Being  assured  that  she  was  still  needed  and  useful 
in  her  family  circle  and  in  the  community,  her  soul 
took  fresh  courage,  her  strength  revived,  and  she 
lived  eight  years  longer,  eight  more  years  of  use- 
fulness. Her  son  has  said  that  undoubtedly  his 
mother's  life  would  have  ended  when  she  thought 
there  was  nothing  more  fdr  her  to  do  if  she  had 
not  been  led  to  realize  that  somebody  needed  her. 
We  should  never  permit  ourselves  to  say  that  the 
day  of  our  usefulness  is  past.  Some  have  done 
their  best  work  in  life's  eventide.  The  Apostle 
Paul  was  "Paul  the  aged"  when  he  wrote  the 
most  forceful  of  his  epistles.  Bryant  wrote  his 
"Flood  of  Years"  at  eighty-two.  Humboldt 
began  his  stupendous  work  on  the  "Cosmos"  at 
seventy-five  and  continued  until  ninety.  John 
Wesley  was  one  of  the  busiest  men  of  his  time  on 
his  eighty-eighth  birthday.    Cato  learned  Greek  at 

55 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

eighty;  Goethe,  toiling  to  the  last,  completed 
11 Faust"  when  four  score  years  were  past.  Such 
mental  vigor  of  the  aged  may  be  deemed  excep- 
tional, but  such  cases  show  how  far  the  gulf  stream 
of  youth  may  flow  into  the  arctic  regions  of  old 
age.  But  with  right  ideals  of  life  and  duty,  old  age 
cannot  prove  cold  and  fruitless. 

When  the  feeling  comes  that  old  age  has  out- 
lived its  usefulness  and  has  no  further  mission  be- 
cause of  infirmities,  then  we  are  to  recall  the  words 
of  Milton:  "They  also  serve  who  only  stand  and 
wait."  We  may  help  others  without  being  aware 
of  it.  If  strength  remains  in  old  age,  then  it  should 
be  used  for  the  welfare  of  others;  if  that  fails,  then 
age  should  counsel;  if  both  should  be  impossible, 
then  old  age  may  still  give  testimony  to  God's 
goodness  and  faithfulness.  With  what  force  does 
the  testimony  of  an  aged  person  come  to  every 
hearer!  If  a  young  person  should  say,  "I  have 
never  seen  the  righteous  forsaken  nor  his  seed 
begging  bread,"  some  one  could  reply,  "You  are 
but  a  youth,  and  have  not  seen  much  of  life." 
But  how  different  if  spoken  by  a  man  three  score 
and  ten.  One  of  God's  aged  saints  arose  in  a  meet- 
ing and  said:  "I  think  all  an  old  man  can  do  is 
to  bear  testimony  to  his  Master.  These  five  and 
forty  years  I  have  walked  in  his  truth.  Young 
people,  hear  what  I  have  to  say.  He  has  been  my 
God  these  live  and  forty  years,  and  I  have  no  fault 
to  find  with  him.  I  have  found  religion's  ways  to 
1  >e  ways  of  pleasantness,  and  her  paths  to  be  paths 
56 


THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE 

of  peace."  What  a  power  for  good  is  such  a  tes- 
timony given  by  an  old  man!  The  world  is  so 
much  better  and  sweeter  because  of  the  ministry 
rendered  by  old  age.  Thus  laboring,  counseling, 
or  testifying,  old  age  is  a  mighty  inspiration  to 
others,  and  not  less  so  if  attended  by  physical 
feebleness  and  helplessness.  Such  an  influence  is 
more  potent  than  all  other  feats  of  physical  strength 
or  mental  greatness. 

If  we  are  to  come  to  the  close  of  our  days  joy- 
fully, it  is  of  importance  that  our  retrospect  be 
made  a  desirable  one.  Old  folks  live  largely  in 
halls  of  memory.  If  one's  past  be  full  of  misspent 
hours,  of  lost  opportunities,  then  memory  must  be 
a  source  of  remorse  and  bitterness.  How  miser- 
able is  that  old  age  in  which  phantoms  rise  from 
the  past,  tormenting  the  soul  with  vain  regrets 
and  dark  forebodings!  How  important,  then,  that 
we  banish  from  our  lives  all  that  is  evil  and  ear- 
nestly covet  all  that  is  good.  Then  in  life's  evening 
one's  memories  will  be  ministering  angels  that  will 
ever  remain  with  us.  A  good  past  is  a  source  of 
perpetual  joy.  Old  people  walk  through  the  pic- 
ture gallery  of  memory  beholding  the  scenes  of 
their  childhood  and  those  of  middle  age;  they  see 
the  old  home  where  they  were  accustomed  to  kneel 
in  prayer  with  their  father  and  mother;  they  re- 
call precious  hours  spent  in  the  sanctuary;  they 
remember  how  blessed  it  is  to  give  one's  self  to 
God  and  live  for  him  and  humanity.  Such  can 
truly  say: 

57 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

"  I  have  a  room  whereinto  no  one  enters 
Save  myself  alone: 

There  sits  a  blessed  memory  on  a  throne, 
There  my  life  centers." 

Finally,  a  happy  and  contented  old  age  must 
also  have  a  hopeful  future.  With  the  conscious- 
ness of  a  glorious  immortality,  the  aged  saint  looks 
hopefully  into  the  future.  He  moves  forward  not 
as  one  leaving  his  treasures,  but  as  one  who  is 
about  to  take  full  possession  of  his  inheritance, 
incorruptible  and  undefiled  and  that  fadeth  not 
away,  reserved  in  heaven.  At  the  end  of  a  hard 
day's  toil  a  weary  mother  said  to  her  son,  "Well,  I 
am  one  day  nearer  my  grave."  "No,  mother," 
the  son  quickly  answered,  "you  are  just  one  day 
nearer  home:  we  are  Christians."  A  soul  that  is 
in-dwelt  by  Christ  need  not  be  afraid  of  death, 
but  may  look  forward  to  the  end  of  life's  journey 
as  an  entrance  to  an  eternal  home.  One  of  God's 
saints,  passing  through  the  valley  of  death,  while 
lingering  in  the  twilight,  exclaimed,  "Beautiful!" 
"It  is  indeed  a  beautiful  morning,"  said  his  weep- 
ing wife.  "Shall  I  open  the  shutters  to  give  a 
better  view?"  "O,"  responded  he,  "I  have 
looked  a  great  way  beyond  the  shutters."  How 
dark  and  hopeless  would  old  age  be  if  we  could  not 
look  beyond  the  shutters.  When  the  day  is  done, 
and  well  done,  how  the  forward  look  contents  the 
heart  and  strengthens  the  soul!  How  the  future 
prospect  adds  to  the  glory  of  the  eventide  of  a  life 
58 


THE  EVENING  OF  LIFE 

well  spent!  When  Moses  went  up  into  a  mountain 
to  die,  earthly  things  vanished,  but  his  death  song 
was,  "Underneath  are  the  everlasting  arms." 
While  the  earthly  house  of  this  tabernacle  is  tum- 
bling down,  the  uplift  of  the  eternal  is  unmistak- 
able. What  an  inspiring  outlook  and  uplook  must 
"Paul  the  aged"  have  had  when  he  penned  these 
words:  "I  am  now  ready  to  be  offered  and  the 
time  of  my  departure  is  at  hand.  I  have  fought  a 
good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept 
the  faith;  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  right- 
eous Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day,  and  not  to 
me  only,  but  unto  all  them  also  that  love  his  ap- 
pearing." His  was  a  look  far  beyond  the  prison 
bars.  May  we,  by  the  help  of  God,  so  live  that 
even  in  old  age  we  can  sing: 

"The  best  is  yet  to  be, 
The  last  of  life,  for  which  the  first  was  made; 
Our  times  are  in  His  hand 
Who  saith,    'A  whole  I  planned, 
Youth  shows  but  half;  trust  God: 
See  all,  nor  be  afraid!'  " 

Then  as  the  sun  of  our  earthly  life  >ink>  behind 
the  hills  of  time  and  life's  twilight  begins  to  merge 
into  the  radiant  dawn  of  eternity,  we  can  look 
up  to  our  heavenly  Father  with  full  confidence 
and  say: 


59 


"LEST  WE  FORGET" 

"So  long  Thy  power  hath  blessed  me,  sure  it  still 

Will  lead  me  on ; 
O'er  moor  and  fen,  o'er  crag  and  torrent,  till 

The  night  is  gone. 
And  with  the  morn  those  angel  faces  smile, 
Which  I  have  loved  long  since,  and  lost  awhile." 

And  thus  cheered  with  the  glorious  morning  of 
that  eternal  day,  there  shall  appear  the  undimmed 
vision  of  God  and  the  realization  of  immortal 
youth. 


60 


